Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane has ordered a halt to the recruitment of new commissioners for Lesotho’s electoral commission after a high court application challenged the constitutionality of the process.
The applicants, who moved to the High Court, raised concerns about what they described as a “peculiar manner” in which an employment consulting firm was procured to assist the commission, and cited other unspecified irregularities that they say have marred the selection exercise.
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After hearing arguments from the parties, Justice Sakoane concluded the matter warranted judicial intervention. In an interim ruling, he interdicted the electoral commission from convening or holding any meetings aimed at advising His Majesty the King on the selection or appointment of commissioners until the court has finalized the case.
The injunction suspends any steps by the commission that would influence the formal appointment process. Under Lesotho’s procedures, the commission’s advice to the King is a necessary element in placing candidates before the executive for formal appointment; the court order therefore effectively freezes the recruitment timetable while the constitutionality challenge proceeds.
Details contained in the court papers cited procurement irregularities related to the engagement of the employment consulting firm but did not, in the material before the court, set out specific dates for when the protests were filed or when the procurement took place. Justice Sakoane’s decision was limited to preventing further advisory action by the commission pending a fuller hearing of the dispute.
The stoppage raises immediate administrative questions for the electoral body, which must maintain independence and public confidence in its operations. A contested selection process for commissioners can fuel concerns about impartiality at a sensitive moment for electoral institutions, though the high court’s interim measure is procedural — designed to preserve the status quo until legal issues are resolved.
The applicants will return to the High Court for a substantive determination of the constitutional questions they have raised. The court’s final decision will determine whether the procurement and any other identified irregularities undermine the legality of the recruitment process and whether the selection should proceed or be restarted under revised procedures.
For now, the commission is barred from holding meetings intended to advise the King on appointments, and the recruitment of new commissioners remains on hold pending the outcome of the litigation.
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
